Putin Vetoes Proposed Breaks for Medvedev Innovation Hub

Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin
vetoed legislation passed by parliament on changes to the
Skolkovo innovation hub, a project championed by Premier Dmitry
Medvedev, threatening to widen a rift between the two men.

The bill, which proposed delaying mandatory residency
requirements for Skolkovo, needs additional work to determine
measures for evaluating the program’s effectiveness, the Kremlin
said today in an e-mailed statement. The law also raises
questions related to safeguards and regulations of intellectual-property rights, according to the statement.

Skolkovo, unveiled in 2010 and based outside Moscow, was a
hallmark of Medvedev’s efforts to modernize the world’s biggest
energy exporter by weaning Russia off its reliance on
commodities and nurturing a knowledge-based economy that can
compete globally. Medvedev, who was president before swapping
jobs with Putin in May, has sought to model the technology hub
after Silicon Valley, offering tax breaks and other incentives
to lure investment.

“This may signal another fight between elite groups, and
it’s a blow for Medvedev, who masterminded the project,” Olga
Kryshtanovskaya, a Moscow-based political analyst, said by
phone. “It’s unprecedented for Putin to veto a law that passed
both houses of the parliament.”